Svartby is a brutal folk metal band from Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
We sing about wild magical creatures living in Svartby (the imaginary Black Village) - witches, imps, dwarfs - definitely unkind to human folk, but at the same time merry, nature-loving and nice living beings with a good sense of humor. The lyrics are in Swedish/English.
Important things you should know about SVARTBY:
SVARTBY doesn't have a single song about trolls. There are enough bands that devote themselves to the trolls' theme, so we make our own world and our own creatures.
SVARTBY believes in tits, beer and rock'n'roll! The band and its members are NOT involved in any religious, political or social communities, parties, ideas and movements. The band's lyrics are Giftsvamp's scary and funny fairy-tales without any hidden deep sense.
Therefore: never, never, never call us 'pagan' or 'viking'! Or why not call us 'catholic voodoo crusaders' or 'orthodox socialists'? In fact, we're not even folk enough
Therefore, you shouldn't expect from us all the shit that you usually expect from a common folk-metal band. We use orchestral instruments' synths in our music (that sometimes sound 'folky', but SVARTBY plays brutal, vivid and merry metal soundtrack for an evil fairy-tale and calls it 'SVARTCORE'. The 'style' name refers to that mysterious 'villain' musical scent you can find in our songs.
Official SVARTBY's motto is SVARTCORE TILL DEATH!
Quote:
Svartby are a folk metal band from St. Petersburg, Russia. Elemental Tales is their third full-length album. Svartby have occasionally been referred to as “folk death” after the way they balance light and dark elements.
The album opens with “Impby,” played on whatounds like toy instruments and punctuated by the inane giggles of some weird little gremlin creatures. “Scum From Underwater” arrives and bring the heaviness, but loses none of the absurdity. Their sound is all hills and valleys, climbing trills that suddenly bottom out and fall into a few guitar chugs before scampering up again. Growled harsh vocals are employed throughout, serving to anchor the sound and order it.
Svartby are certainly a fun band. They sound an awful lot like an actual troupe of goblins and trolls trying to make heavy music. This is fitting, considering Elemental Tales is a concept album that is all about imps. The band keeps up the illusion perfectly, with a twinkle of twee keys here, the bellowing of a tuba there, and other folk elements sprinkled throughout. They certainly execute their plan well; they have a theme and stick to it, so in that way this is a successful album.
TRACK LISTING
Impby
Scum from Underwater
Boulder Massacration
Sleepy Devils
Mushroom Rings
Done with the Wind
Ash and Dust
Flaming Balls
Morning Wood
Elemental Tales
Imp Slam
, but SVARTBY plays brutal, vivid and merry metal soundtrack for an evil fairy-tale and calls it 'SVARTCORE'. The 'style' name refers to that mysterious 'villain' musical scent you can find in our songs. 
/ XBTT (1) by Dejavu